Prolog is a logic programming language based on first-order predicate logic. Some key points:
- Prolog programs consist of facts and rules defined with predicates and clauses. Predicates take arguments that can be variables, constants, or terms.
- Prolog is declarative rather than procedural - programs specify relations between objects rather than algorithms or steps. Prolog uses backtracking to try different substitutions for variables to determine if queries are true.
- Prolog was invented in the 1970s and was inspired by logic programming research. It is well-suited for symbolic processing, knowledge representation, and natural language processing.